When they ultimately belong to different social groups and look nothing like you, It’s difficult to fully identify with your idols. This is a central tenant of Man, The Posters, a series of photographs by Carlee Fernandez that combine self-portraiture with cardboard cutouts of men who have inspired her throughout her life.
Man, The Posters Installation View, 2016, Carlee Fernandez
Recently on display at ACME, an LA gallery, the series falls somewhere between an homage to Fernandez’s idols and an identity politics-informed questioning of the contemporary male figure. In one photograph, a leotard-clad Fernandez holds up a life-sized cutout of Charles Bukowski in a cemetery, a man who, despite his literary achievements, was notorious for his overarching contempt for women. Can you venerate someone whose work you admire, but who actively held disdained towards a social group you belong to? Can you admire someone who would have likely looked down upon you?
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“Self Portrait with Charles Bukowski,” 2006, Carlee Fernandez
Perhaps what is most interesting about Man, The Posters, is that it was created ten years ago, but has reemerged today with an entire solo exhibition in its honor. “People have said that the work has a yesteryear feel to it, so to think of how it resonates in today’s cultural climate is interesting, too,” Fernandez tells The Creators Project.
“Self Portrait as Franz West,” 2006, Carlee Fernandez
Indeed, the black-and-white, analog qualities of the photographs are aesthetically reminiscent of the past, but the work still possesses a lasting relevance to our current cultural climate. Even though Fernandez’s idols, like Bruce Dickinson and Dave Mustaine, are not the primary cultural influencers of today, they stand in for a type of hyper-masculine superstar that has only just started to lose ground in the past few years. Fernandez’s work serves as a reminder that the issues of representation in popular culture that are finally being tackled today are longstanding cultural problems that are long overdue for a change. They’re vestiges of a one-sided cultural monopoly.
“Self Portrait as Dave Mustaine,” 2006, Carlee Fernandez
Man, The Posters closed at ACME on July 9, but can be viewed on the gallery’s website. More of Carlee Fernandez’s work can be seen here.
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